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Re: Still very tempting to buy my totaled TT back
Glad to hear it is working out for you. I would keep an eye on the wheel bearings, as the one on the right side certainly would have experienced extra stress as the unit tipped over. Also curious if your insurance company let you reinsure the salvage trailer, or if you had to go a different route?677Views0likes0CommentsRe: No Anti-Sway/Weight Distribution
I don't think you will have an issue if you load the trailer so as to maintain sufficient tongue weight. We tow a 23' Starcraft with a Subaru Ascent that specifically indicates not to use a weight distributing hitch. You may want to ask the rental company to measure the ball height on the trailer, so you can make sure you have the appropriate drop to keep the trailer level. I suspect the hitch is considerably lower on the Jayco than on your Grand Design.653Views0likes0CommentsRe: 2020 Starcraft Wet Floor Insulation After Towing In Rain
Update: I have managed to gain access to the insulation sections outside the frame rails behind the wheel wells. To achieve this I pulled the staples from under the lower edge of the aluminum siding, so I could pull the siding out a little. This allowed me to see the plastic sheeting, where it wraps around the edge of the floor joist and is sandwiched between the floor and side wall. Using a knife and straight edge (fabricated from an old hinge to provide an offset from lower edge), I was able to cut the vertical section of plastic sheeting at the mid point. After pulling the plastic down, I was able to pull out the wet fiberglass insulation (a stick helped at the ends of the cavity). I was anticipating the insulation would be separate sections cut to fit between the floor support beams. However, it appears to be one large sheet that is installed across the floor beams before the plastic is stapled in position. When the floor structure is dropped onto the frame, the insulation is compressed where it becomes sandwiched between the floor beams and the frame. Where I have removed the insulation, this compressed section is still trapped between the beams and frame, and hopefully will dry out before too long. The fiberglass insulation is still present in the section between the main frame rails but the water ingress into this area is less severe. In the areas outside the frame rails, I have now replaced the fiberglass insulation with polystyrene blocks that should not absorb water if the area gets wet again. I am now in the process of reattaching the plastic sheeting using 2" wide FlexMend tape. This will cover the slit cut in the vertical section of the plastic sheeting and will be completely hidden when the aluminum siding is put back in place. Other than some added sealant, the repair should not be obvious to anyone looking underneath the trailer (e.g. future trade in). Next I will be looking at adding some corrugated plastic between the frame rails, to better protect the openings in the plastic sheeting around the holding tanks. Since the waste drain plumbing was not designed to accommodate this, it is going to be a little more challenging that it would be on other trailers. Overall this is turning into quite a project, all of which could have been avoided with a little bit of design effort and attention to detail during the build process. I feel the RV industry needs a wake up call, much like the auto industry had with the arrival of Japanese imports.324Views0likes0CommentsRe: 2020 Starcraft Wet Floor Insulation After Towing In Rain
Thank you for all the responses so far. Having read the warranty restrictions in detail, it looks like they give themselves several get out clauses. These include exclusions for damage due to the environment and consequential damage such as mold and mildew. If they just attempt to seal everything without removing the wet insulation, I suspect I am heading for problems down the road. While the fiberglass insulation may dry our rapidly in a dryer climate like California, I suspect it will take much longer here in New York (currently 52 F with 69% relative humidity). The wet insulation is in contact with the wooden structure of the trailer body, so I would like to get it dried out ASAP. For clarification, the trailer does not have an enclosed underbody, so there is no Coroplast sheeting spanning the gap between the lower frame rails. The plastic sheeting I mentioned spans the entire width of the trailer and runs across the top of the frame rails.325Views0likes0Comments2020 Starcraft Wet Floor Insulation After Towing In Rain
We have a 2020 Starcraft Autumn Ridge 182RB that we purchased in July of last year. While we used the trailer fairly extensively last fall, we did not experience any really inclement weather. However, yesterday we ended up towing the trailer 200+ miles in pretty much constant rain. After checking the trailer today, I discovered several spots where the fiberglass insulation under the floor is now wet. The trailer appears to just rely on plastic sheeting between the wooden floor frame and the steel chassis for weather protection. This has been cut in several places to install the waste tanks and to accommodate wiring and gas lines (sealed with expanding foam). At the edges. the plastic extends under the side aluminum trim and the wheel wells. One of the wet areas is behind a wheel, so the water may be entering here, or running across from another area. I will be contacting the dealer on Tuesday (after the holiday) to see what they say. However, I wanted to see if anyone had experienced anything similar, or had any suggestions as to how this should be addressed? I have opened up as many access panels in the trailer as possible, and can feel the damp insulation by reaching down where the tub drain passes through the floor. Thanks in advance for your assistance.2.4KViews0likes7Comments
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